906.53

Like many runners, I'm constantly looking at numbers.  Minute per mile.....miles per week.......heart rate.....miles per month........miles until the finish line.  Ever since I started running in 2008, I've become a little obsessed with numbers......ok, that's not quite true.  I've always been fascinated by numbers, as they're something I can keep track of, monitor, and attempt to make meaning of.  All of which brings me to this number:    906.53

That's my year-to-date mileage.

While it may not seem like much to many more hardcore runners, I find it to be somewhat meaningful.  Barring any serious injury or illness, 906.53 on 11/25/11 means I'm likely to reach my goal of 1000 miles for 2011.  My annual mileage since becoming a runner looks like this:

2008:  824
2009:  795
2010:  730

So when I was in my backyard earlier today, raking and bagging huge piles of leaves, I looked at my wife and son and reflected again on all of the things in my life that I'm thankful for.  A loving, wonderful, supportive and healthy family is at the top of my list, followed closely by some very good friends, a stimulating and fulfilling career as a teacher, and then comes my ability to run.  When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to accomplish running-wise in 2011, I made some conscious choices after having ended both 2009 and 2010 either injured, sick, or both.  First and foremost was to really try to slow down....drop my pace in training runs to at least about 1 minute below race pace.  I think part of the problem I had in those previous years was simply training too hard, and I ended up regretting it.

So in 2011, I've managed to avoid injury (thus far!) and have also been relatively healthy, so I've been able to be (for me) remarkably consistent all year.  The longest break I took all year was 5 days in May when I was sick, but other than that, I've pretty much been averaging about 20 miles per week, week in and week out.  I'm trying not to take any of this for granted, but I'm very pleased with the results I've been achieving.

In a few weeks, I'm going to being training for the Boston Marathon.  It's an 18 week program that builds gradually and includes rest days and cross-training days, and it's a program I'm going to try to follow as closely as possible.  The last time I was training for a marathon (2009 Bay State Marathon - Lowell, MA 10/18/09), I hurt my left achilles tendon.  It took weeks to recover from that one and thankfully, it didn't impact my race.  The weather on race day, however, really set me back, as it was pouring rain, cold (35!), and windy....a classic Nor'easter (it even snowed on the way home!).  Seeing as how the Boston Marathon is run on Patriots Day (mid-April), the weather that day can also be a factor, but I figure it can't be any worse that what I've already been through!  I just want to get through the weeks of training unscathed and make it to the starting line in Hopkinton healthy. 

906.53..........what a great number!

Once more.....the link to my fundraising page

Ok.....I tried copying this before, but the hyperlink didn't copy and all I got was text!  This should work better.......so please visit and give generously!

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billfine/RunningforCover_Boston_2012

Running for a cause......

I’m taking part in the 2012 Boston Marathon ® Running for Cover Team to raise money for Melanoma Foundation New England - please make a donation by visiting my FirstGiving page:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billfine/RunningforCover_Boston_2012

You can donate online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to Melanoma Foundation New England by FirstGiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation.

Please send my page on to anyone who might like to donate!

Bill

Greetings!

Amazing it took me this long to get started, but I've finally gotten around to starting my running blog.  I've been running now for nearly 4 years, having started with the Couch To 5K program in January 2008.  Since then, I've run about 30 5K's, 10 5-milers, 5 10K's, 2 half marathons, 2 overnight relays, and 1 marathon.  Along the way, I've experienced moments of great joy (finishing my marathon) and moments of great pain (finishing my marathon!).  In spite of the difficulty (or maybe because of it!), I've grown to love the exhilarating feeling I get every time I run......the clarity of thought........heart pumping......lungs filling and emptying in rhythm with my strides......the thrill I get when I turn up my street and see the mailbox which is that day's finish line.  I could go on and on.....but I'll try to save something for my next post!

I had a hard time trying to name this blog, as many of the names I like had already been chosen.  But I finally settled on a saying I found on a poster once which I've adopted as a bit of a personal mantra.  Actually, it more of an explanation of how someone like me can be a runner.  The quote goes as follows:

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it.  Impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion.  Impossible is not an opinion, it's a dare.  Impossible is potential.  Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing"

Words to live by, my friends.......words to live by.